ReMix: F-Zero X Expansion Kit 'Beyond Lightspeed'

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From newcomer Tony Thai comes our first F-Zero X ReMix, actually from the Expansion Kit for the 64DD which was never released outside of Japan (probably cause, for the price, it would have tanked worse than the Virtual Boy did) - you thus might not have heard the original, but many of X's tracks have a familiar guitar-driven, energetic feel to them, so you can almost mentally reconstruct what the source material would sound like. Or heck, who knows, you might actually have a 64DD and play F-Zero X Expansion Kit every other day. Judges were split on this, largely due to the mixing I would say; drums are sorta thin and slapdash (almost like a Supergrass track) and things generally could have been mastered for more balance and punch overall. However, there's a style this lends the piece that's a bit different too, which some might be into. And certainly, the variety of guitar soloing and textures and subtle little touches here and there keep things moving forward and maintain interest. I especially dug the break at 1'38" - both the instrumentation and intervals in this little oasis are brief, but cool. To give you two contrasting views, Mr. Cabrera offered his opinion that "it's actually pretty boring, in my mind. Not very spectacular and nothing really sparks my interest until we get into the original section. Then again, at 2:25, it gets boring. And that over-spaced guitar is bugging me." Mr. Katti represents the opposite take: "Mm... wailing guitars heard through the venue of a distinctive garage riff sound; reminds me of much of Uniracers soundtrack. The remotely-reverbed mixing job seems controversial, but I enjoy it stylistically. Arrangement is carried through well without needing an overbearing power-rock melody; instead, it's rockin' Muzak. Well-played and well-done, I say." So there you go - different strokes for different folks. Overall the panel had more good things to say than bad, and certainly the style and source material are fresh. I think the best barometer of whether you'll dig this is whether you're into guitar-soloing jamfests or not; the mixing is an issue but at the core it's either your thing or it's not. Regardless, some creative arranging and screaming soloing from Tony Thai in a very non-comformist first submission.

― djpretzel